CALL FOR PAPERS
Social Movements Research Network of the Council for European Studies (SMRN-CES)
Precarious Lives: Resistance, Solidarity, and Research during Catastrophes
June 19-20th, 2026 @Dublin City University (DCU)
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As of the writing of this call, the situation in the Palestinian Territories represents the ultimate paradigm of man-made catastrophe: a defenceless civilian population is submitted to the will of overwhelming military power, which is in turn exercised almost without restraint. In Gaza all aspects of life, from the very basic individual needs to the overall societal dynamics, have been disrupted by incessant military operations over the last two years: tens of thousands have died and almost all the population has experienced forced displacement; most of the physical infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged; securing food, shelter, and medical assistance has become impossible. In the West Bank, the Palestinian population living under Israel’s military government has no civil or political rights and is systematically subjected to harassment from both the Israeli army and national-religious settlers.
Israel/Palestine represents a very visible and extreme case of a broader range of situations in which the status quo and usual routines break down and people’s lives are violently disrupted, dislocated, and taken hostage – whether by the explosion of armed conflicts between state and non-state actors; by humanitarian crises which follow natural disasters; by increased authoritarian repression resulting in mass imprisonment, forced displacement, or murder; by the growth criminal or sectarian intimidation and violence; and so forth.
Whether these catastrophes are entirely man-made (such as in the Gaza Strip in the last two years), or are caused by the mismanagement of natural disasters (such as in Haiti following the earthquake of 2010), they equally threaten individual and collective life of the populations involved, as basic human rights and the possibility of individual and collective autonomy are called into question and sometime brutally challenged by state and/or non-state actors. Still, and even under the worst circumstances, people regularly develop forms of collective action, in order to realize different goals and go on with their life.
This conference thus invites contributions that explore the dynamic of collective action vis-á-vis catastrophic ruptures of the status quo. Specifically, we welcome theoretical and empirical papers addressing current or historical case studies, which focus on at least one of these key (but not exclusive) elements:
- Resisting catastrophes
Despite brutal and widespread challenges to their individual and collective life, people still engage in collective action to resist or evade the pressure exercised upon them; this includes forms of contentious policy directed toward political change, spanning from active and even violent resistance to civil disobedience, non-compliance, and boycotts. In parallel, people act together to secure the material and immaterial resources that they need for their life; this includes forms of everyday politics directed to the satisfaction of primary individual and collective needs, such as food, shelter, and other basic services; communal relations and mutual care; economic opportunities; etc.
And thus: How do people manage to develop forms of collective action when basic functions of social life (including the habitual infrastructure for collective action) are disrupted? How do these circumstances are reflected in the organizational dynamics, in the repertoires of political practices, and in the trajectory of politicisation? What kind of coping strategies develop in these situations? What kind of relation is there between contentious and everyday forms of collective action? Under which conditions resistance to oppressive structures can escalate into a dynamic of regime change?
- Solidarity during catastrophes
Catastrophes often trigger deep emotional responses in audiences that are much wider, territorially and otherwise, than the affected population, giving rise to forms of international solidarity. Indeed, history is full of examples of how such movements (from the mobilizations against the Vietnam war to anti-apartheid struggles) have had significant impact both on the situations that they were addressing, and on the political trajectory of the countries in which they took place.
And thus: how do you resist from a distance? How is a broad public opinion movement constituted in relation to issues that are far often far removed from the reality of local situation? What is the role of existing international activist networks or ethnic diasporas in fostering international solidarity? What is the dialectic between symbolic and direct forms of solidarity?
- Researching catastrophes
Framing these extreme situations as a research object presents significant specific challenges to the researcher – practical and logistical, as well as ethical and political. Research is often done in environments marked by infrastructural breakdown, social unrest, and open, violent conflicts; and even when the researcher is not directly affected, s/he will likely have to deal with intense polarization in the public debate, as well as with pressing and complex ethical issues.
And thus: How should the researcher position him/herself in such situations? What are the challenges of developing research activities in high-risk contexts (ex. in relation to the safety of the researcher and of vulnerable individuals and groups involved in the investigation)? How should s/he negotiate his/her own feelings and values in such emotionally intense and polarized research environments? And how should the scholarly practice (and especially participatory approaches rooted in concepts such as co-production, action-research, conricerca) adapt to circumstances? How should academic research and institutions position themselves vis-à-vis these pressing societal issues?
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How to submit a paper proposal
Abstracts should be max 500 words long, in English; status and affiliation of all authors should be included. Please send your abstracts to this address: SMRNCES@gmail.com.
- Abstract submission deadline February 1, 2026
- Decision on paper proposals March 1, 2026
- Submission of Full Paper June 1, 2026
Proposals will be assessed by the board of the CES Social Movements Research Network (Luisa Rossini, Guya Accornero, Pierre Monforte, Gabriele D’Adda, Felipe Gonzalez Santos, and Marco Allegra) as well as by local organizers (Valesca Lima and Paola Rivetti).
Papers will be circulated among participants two weeks before the conference; each of them will be assigned a discussant, but all the participants will commit themselves to reading all the papers presented. There will be no parallel sessions: all participants will attend one session after the other (max. 3-4 paper per session), in order to create the best possible conditions for a productive debate.
The conference will take place at DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus (St Patrick’s Campus, Dublin City University, Drumcodra, Dublin; https://www.dcu.ie/dts/st-patricks-campus-location)
Please note that we cannot provide financial support for attending the conference, but there will not be any registration fees.
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The Social Movements RN wishes to thank the Dublin City University (DCU) for providing the venue for this conference, as well as the Council for European Studies (CES) for their support to the activities of Research Network.